All play and no work

Before traveling there, my knowledge of the Galapagos Islands consisted of the story of Charles Darwin’s observations of the finches (and so on) and subsequent MONUMENTAL contributions to scientific understanding of evolution of species. Friends who toured the islands described rocky shores where birds did not fly away in fear.

There was SO MUCH I didn’t know…

> Pirates and other mariners stopped there to repair ships. They took on huge land tortoises as cargo. Why tortoises? Because they could live for months without food…and thus served as an economical food source for sailors. Almost to the point of distinction. 😕

A tortoise restoration initiative is helping to rebuild populations of the several species that did not go extinct. https://www.galapagos.org/conservation/giant-tortoise-restoration/

> To claim the islands, newly independent Ecuador offered settlers free land on the islands in the 1830’s. Unbeknownst to me, four of the islands remain inhabited by people. 35,000 of them! Who knew!

> Transforming the archipelago into a national park in 1959 enabled Ecuador to protect the unique diversity of endemic and introduced species as well as to preserve the varied ecosystems for research, education, and tourism.

This video shows of a good many of the birds, reptiles, and marine mammals we saw on our 4-day tour. *

*Our tour guide, Pablo, also filmed underwater as we snorkeled. To see fishes and marine mammals, go to minute 14:00 in the video in Adventures in Ecuador and Galapagos: The Movie!

Because the non-human residents of the islands have been protected from human predation for so many generations, they have no fear. Blue-footed boobies, iguanas, sea lions, frigate birds, crabs, tortoises, and on and on — all proceed with their lives, unperturbed.

The absence of fear creates a feeling of peaceful integration of all beings, what Amy described as Garden of Eden-like. Just as a human mother will sit near you with a child on her lap, a sea lion will nurse its pup near you, a booby will sit on its egg near you, and a frigate bird will sit with its hatchling near you.

Island life at the equator is not governed by seasons (except for migrant species who come up from the south or down from the north). Rather, changes in ocean currents dictate weather and richness of the food chain. Courtship and mating, nesting and gestation, birth, maturity can all occur at any time.

On one short hike, we saw blue-footed boobies at all stages . I made a silly little movie of them:

If hearing about the Galapagos makes you want to visit, DO SO! Don’t wait!

Whatever you have heard about the abundant, fearless animals is true. But accepting what is true does not equate with knowing through feeling. You must experience Galapagos Life to begin understanding fear-free, multi-species living.